A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains or may contain material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the photocopy reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure in exactly the form it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The present invention relates in general to a gaming device, and more particularly to a gaming device having at least two awards that increment upon successive player selections, wherein the player makes a final selection that randomly determines which award the gaming device provides to the player.
Gaming devices provide enjoyment and excitement to players, in part, because they may ultimately lead to monetary awards for the players. Gaming devices also provide enjoyment and excitement to the players because they are fun to play. Bonus games, in particular, provide gaming device manufacturers with the opportunity to add enjoyment and excitement to that which is already expected from a base game of the gaming device. Bonus games provide extra awards to the player and enable the player to play a game that is different than the base game.
Gaming devices are typically games of luck, not skill. Primary games are set up to pay back a certain percentage of the amount of money inputted into the machine. The payout percentage in most primary games is set high enough that any player who plays a few hands or spins of the reels wins. That is, in most primary games it is not too difficult to experience some level of success.
Bonus games are typically set up for the player to succeed. The player usually wins an award in a bonus game. In bonus game play, the goal is often to maximize the possible award. Winning, at least on some level, is therefore a standard component in gaming devices. Moreover, the payout percentage of any gaming device is ultimately set by the relevant gaming jurisdiction and gaming establishment, not the game designer.
A continuing need therefore exists to provide gaming devices that issue awards in an exciting and enjoyable manner. In this respect, it is desirable to enable the player to have an impact on, or a hand in, determining their award. It is further desirable to increase the level of player interaction. Each of these features is desirable in a primary or secondary game.
The present invention provides a gaming device having a game that may be implemented in a primary or bonus game. More specifically, the present invention provides a processor controlled gaming device that enables the player to build a number of awards by selecting choices from one or more sets of choices and further enables the player to select a final award choice that randomly provides one of the awards when the player finishes building the awards. To this end, in one embodiment of the present invention, the player selects from a first set of choices until the player selects a choice that terminates selection from that set. For purposes of describing the present invention, the choice that ends the player""s selection from the set is called a terminator. In one embodiment, only one set is provided to the player. In this embodiment, the terminator terminates selection from the single set and completes the building of the awards. In other embodiments a plurality of sets are sequentially provided to the player. In these embodiments, the terminator terminates the selection from one set and in turn initiates selection from another set.
In each set of one embodiment of the present invention, when the player selects a choice, the game provides an outcome. The sets include any one, combination of or all of the following outcomes: (i) a number of gaming device credits; (ii) a modifier such as a multiplier; and (iii) a terminator.
In addition to specifying a number of game credits or a multiplier, the choices also direct which award increments by the number of credits or the multiplier. In one embodiment, a set may include one or more choices that provides a number of credits or a multiplier to both awards or all of the awards. In another embodiment, a choice by the player may yield a number of credits that is subtracted from one or both or all of the awards.
The present invention includes at least one and preferably a plurality of sets of choices. The present invention also includes at least two and alternatively any number of awards that the player builds or increments through the selection of the choices. When the player selects a terminator from a set of choices, the game in a preferred embodiment reveals the outcome of any unselected choice in the set.
When the player selects a terminator from each set provided by the present invention, the competing awards are complete and a determination is made as to which award the player receives. In a preferred embodiment, the gaming device provides a plurality of award selections the award selections are separate from the choices displayed in association with their respective sets. The game preferably associates each award with an award selection. The player""s selection of a particular award selection thereby determines which award the player receives.
In an alternative embodiment, the gaming device may be adapted to automatically randomly provide one of the awards to the player. This may be done in conjunction with a fun and exciting audio, visual or audio-visual demonstration by the display device. In another alternative embodiment, when the player selects one of the award selections, the gaming device may be adapted to question whether the player wishes to keep or change the initial selection. In yet another alternative embodiment, when the player selects one of the award selections, the gaming device may be adapted to provide one of the award plus an additional number of credits or a modifier such as a multiplier.
It is therefore an advantage of the present invention to provide a gaming device that builds a plurality of potential awards for the player and reveals these awards to the player.
It is another advantage of the present invention to provide a gaming device that builds a plurality of potential awards for the player and enables the player to select one of the awards.
It is a further advantage of the present invention to provide a gaming device that enables the player to build a plurality of potential awards by selecting choices from a plurality of sets of choices.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying sheets of drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like parts, elements, components, steps and processes.